[PRP] Preparations Underway? [Gael & Gren]

[Kimaria]

Despite news on their next target, things had been moving strangely slow the past few weeks. The days ebbed and flowed and preparations were being made, and yet there was still no concrete timescale for when they would make their move to the lands touched by the kulukadok. Gren had floated around the settlement, keeping mostly to herself, occasionally making for the rogue lands to get a better sense of her place.

Yet, nothing had truly settled her.

Today, she was contemplating heading out again, hunched under the boughs of a skeletal tree that give her almost no respite from the sun and the devilish wind that burned her eyes dry. Beyond the scrub land she could hear a brawl of some sort getting underway. The young adult males scrapping in the dust, no doubt. With each passing day the tension was stretching thinner and thinner.

What could be holding up the march? Was there really that much more to discuss?

A raven cackled above her but she made a pointed effort to ignore it.  

[SilverLutz]

Gael huffed softly as he wiped dirt from his eyes. The lands here were pretty unforgiving and dead, leaving the dirt to whip up with the smallest disturbance. He had been near the little circle of males that were growing antsy and decided to spar, but he didn't want any part in that. Instead, he decided to go walk around and see if there was anyone to talk to.

He wasn't long in walking when he spotted a very familiar sight beneath a scraggly tree. His ears perked up for a moment before pushing them down again. He needed to be cool, confident, and not overly excited to see Gren. Last time he felt like he had chased her off a bit. That was the last thing he wanted to do.

Keeping his gait slow, Gael moved over to the tree that Gren sat beneath and plucked at a low hanging branch. It cracked off in his paw without much prodding. The sharp noise made him flinch a bit and he lowered his paw. Smooth cool and confident Gael, come on now.

"Still no word calling you back?" he asked quietly. He knew she had been waiting for her mission to be called done and that it was taking longer than expected for her to be told to return. That was just as well for him. He was drawn to the lioness and would be loath to see her go.  

[Kimaria]

She startled at the sudden noise, her bright eyes lifting to meet his. He was an odd one, this lion. Not much like the other males in the horde. It was a little strange and yet she wasn't sure she minded all that much. He was kind, at least. That in itself was a rare trait amongst the males of the species.

"No. I will go with the horde to the kulukadok lands," she replied in her typical gravely tone. "Maybe after he will ask for my return."

The raven croaked: "not likely."

Gren growled and sank a little lower. "You lost your fight?" She asked Gael; indicating the direction of the noise with her muzzle.  

[SilverLutz]

Gael nodded slightly as Gren spoke. It seemed that was next on the agenda and it would be his first chance to prove himself to...well. Her, really. He knew he was capable of fighting, but for some reason it was of vital importance to show her that he could as well.

"Oh no, I wasn't fighting," he said as he glanced back at the dust cloud where all the noise was coming from. "Just watching. Got a little hard once one hit the ground and kicked up that cloud, though." He didn't want to intrude any closer to Gren's space so he wouldn't spook her away, but the distance they were at was just far enough to make casual conversation awkward.

Stepping just a few feet closer, he stopped and sat so she wouldn't feel like he was cornering her against the tree trunk. He tilted his head a bit, trying not to be overly-curious and having a hard time of it.

"Is the bird yours?"  

[Kimaria]

"My nose does not like these dust clouds. Maybe when rains come, there will be less." Judging by the brittle landscape, however, it appeared that they were not due rain in the area any time soon...if at all. "Even red ones in the sandy place have more water than us."

She shifted a little, snorting as if to clear her nose.

Above her the raven scoffed at the question. Yet, strangely, it was Gren who spoke first - cutting off any foul reply the feathered beast might have made.

"He is named Qara. He was my guide, sent to aid me by Graos Oma," she blinked sadly. "He belongs only to him."

"I belong to no one," the raven snapped. "I owed Graos Oma and now that debt has been paid."

Gren heaved a great sigh. "I do not know why the raven finds his perch so often above my head."  

[SilverLutz]

"Mm...my eyes don't like them, either," Gael sympathized, his eyes still a bit watery from the dirt. He glanced up at the raven as they were introduced, a tiny grin curling his lips. He narrowed his eyes a bit up at the bird once it was made clear that it wasn't Gren's companion, completing the look with a little grunt of disapproval.

"Perhaps he has nothing better to do. Or perhaps he wishes to be your companion," he said, clearly teasing the bird. He wasn't about to let some feathered annoyance bother Gren if he could help it. Or, if he couldn't chase him off, at the very least become the source of his antagonizing. He didn't belong to Graos Oma, he could become a tasty snack if he ever got close enough.

Turning his sneer from Qara, he let his expression soften again as he focused on the lioness. "Or, maybe, he enjoys your company. If I were a raven I'd probably do the same."  

[Kimaria]

"Perhaps we will take back this land from the kulukadok and stay there. Maybe it was meant for us. Maybe there will be a job there for me." A purpose...it was all she truly wanted. Surely that was not too much to ask for? Or, maybe for someone like her, it was.

"If you were...?" She blinked, "My company?" Then she frowned deeply, her jutting teeth more pronounced than ever. "But if you could fly, you could go anywhere." Anywhere at all...

"You could," the raven agreed, "but the land is much the same wherever you go."

Gren wasn't sure she believed him.  

[SilverLutz]

"You could," Gael agreed, looking up at the raven again. "As could you. I bet if you fly far enough you'd find more interesting lands to infest with your cackling." Had it just been him he might have given a roar to try to scare the creature off, but since Gren was here he wanted to be less...well. Like the other males in the pride. Boastful and proud and big-headed and blindly charging into fights just because they were bored.

Looking at Gren once again, he rolled his shoulders in a little shrug. "But you're here, so I'd rather stay if I had the choice." That was a bit more forward and he hoped she wouldn't decide to spurn his mild advances. Surely she was tired of being alone all the time.

"Is it much different where you're from?" he asked, deciding to change the subject. "Where Graos Oma is?"  

[Kimaria]

The raven rolled his eyes and hopped a little further along his perch. Somehow it was less fun being a pest when there were others around. Perhaps he might find some better entertainment elsewhere...

Gren's face smoothed a little at Gael's words and, tentatively, one ear drew forwards from its previously pinned back state. "The land there is grey, too." She admitted after a moment. It hadn't exactly been a lush paradise, but he had been there and she had felt useful, rather than just in the way. "But water was near and the passing herds were large."

There were other things about it that she hadn't liked much, but, all in all, they seemed petty things now.

"There were rains before I left and the flowers in the valley bloomed." That was a sight she would remember for a long time. "The grey earth became a field of blue and yellow. Like nothing I had ever seen before."

SilverLutz

 

[SilverLutz]

Gael listened as Gren spoke of her old home, nodding at the mention of flowers. This place was rather dead even when it did rain, but they roamed enough to see sights like that. The desert where the Firekin lived could bloom into beautiful, colorful scenery when the rains came, but that was about as often as here.

"It's interesting that the orders don't come to seek out fertile lands," he murmured thoughtfully. "I suppose that would just make it more desirable for others to try to come and take what is ours. If we live here we don't need to worry about constant attack." Instead they could focus their efforts on doing the attacking.

"There were some nice flowers out in the rogue lands the other day while I was walking around," he said thoughtfully. "Nothing spectacular in color but they were very healthy. Perhaps they're still there."

Kimaria

 

[Kimaria]

She nodded listlessly, folding back her ears again. Everything seemed so complicated. Lions, too. She liked to follow orders and carry them out to the best of her ability. Gren was good at doing what she was told and she was proud of her service record. She was sure it had one her the respect she had needed to be sent on this journey in the first place.

"The red lions might think to look in fertile lands for us," she mumbled, though she wondered whether the red lions even cast them a thought these days. It had been a long time since the attack that had brought about the death of the warlord. The red lions had taken more than their fair share of blood that day and she had been forced to retreat with the rarec before they could be taken from her. The hyena that had died there so she could escape...such honour that had been. Such glory. She only wished that he could have lived to serve longer.

Still, the talk of flowers had her eyes brightening momentarily. It might have seemed odd that such an ugly creature might see the beauty in the world and take the time to appreciate it but appreciate it she did. "Flowers...?" she spoke the word tentatively. "Close by?" It was clear that she was trying not to look too interested...and utterly failing at doing so.

SilverLutz

 

[SilverLutz]

Gael was pleasantly surprised when Gren's ears perked up. Flowers...she seemed to be interested in them. Grabbing on to the potential outing idea, he nodded enthusiastically and nodded in the direction he had seen them in a few days ago. "They're that way, not far at all. Far enough to no longer be on our lands but close enough that a trip wouldn't take more than a half a day, depending on how long you linger."

He didn't want to jump up and ask her right away if she waned to go, but it was a hard-fought battle that he ended up losing. "If you want I could show you where they are."

Kimaria

 

[Kimaria]

Her face curled with indecision. On one paw she would have loved to have gone to see the blooms. It had seemed so long ago since she had seen green grass, let alone the petals of a flower...and yet...

..and yet...

It wasn't exactly the most 'Nergui' thing to do. She ought to be sharpening her claws in preparation for battle against their foes, or keeping herself fit ready for the trek that lay ahead of them.

But Gael had said it wouldn't be far...

"What if..." she paused, "what if someone finds out?" Her eyes leapt upwards to where the raven was perched, eyes half-closed. Pretense sleep. Surely if word got around, they'd end up a laughing stock. She wasn't sure she could handle that.

SilverLutz

 

[SilverLutz]

Gael watched Gren weigh her options. This was a very interesting discover he had made and perhaps he could use it to his advantage. She seemed to be warming up to him now...maybe if he brought her a flower every time he saw her she'd come to seek him out as well rather than simply allowing his presence.

"If someone finds out?" he echoed, a little confused for a moment. He wasn't terribly concerned with appearances but obviously Gren was worried about it. He rolled his shoulders and flashed a grin, letting far more teeth than needed show. "Then, if they make a fuss, we'll make them wish they hadn't spoken a word about it."

Gren was an intimidating lion in her own right and Gael was no stranger to fighting. They could easily overpower one lion together and put up a good enough fight to make two or more wish they'd not bothered to tease. Gael turned then and headed towards the rogue lands where he'd seen the flowers. "Or you can berate me for wanting to go see flowers and let them sneer and scoff at me. I don't mind."

Kimaria

 

[Kimaria]

A number of expressions cross Gren's unfortunate face at that moment. Surprise. Suspicion. Apprehension. Perhaps even a little happiness. As the male lion turned she gave a clumsy nod of her head and eased herself up onto all fours, crouching at first as if expecting to be ambushed.

Then, when no ambush came, she straightened and made to follow after him.

"You are..." she paused, seeking the word that evaded her. "Different." Maybe not the perfect word to describe him but the only one that her mind would allow her to conjure in that moment. Maybe, in time, she would think to ask about him and figure out why he wasn't like the others.

SilverLutz

(fin? <3 )